Zebec grew from a Solana payment-streaming protocol into a payments network by adding payroll companies, crypto debit cards and support for more blockchains. Founder Sam Thapaliya launched it
Zebec grew from a Solana payment-streaming protocol into a payments network by adding payroll companies, crypto debit cards and support for more blockchains.
Founder Sam Thapaliya launched it on Solana in 2021 to stream money by the second. Today, Zebec Network runs enterprise payroll, crypto-funded cards and a single SuperApp, and it uses revenue from those products to buy back its ZBCN token.
What Was Zebec At The Start?
Zebec began as a tool for “streaming” payments. Instead of sending a salary once a month, an employer deposits funds into a smart contract, and the protocol streams them to the worker’s wallet at a set per-second rate.
Solana made this practical. Its fast finality and low fees made per-second settlement cheap enough to use. Early products built around this streaming technology included:
- Zebec Payroll: salary streaming for teams paid in crypto
- Zebec Safe: a multi-signature treasury tool, where several approvals are needed to move funds
A multi-signature (multisig) wallet requires more than one key holder to sign a transaction. Companies use them so no single person controls shared funds.
Early Funding
Republic Capital, Shima Capital and Breyer Capital co-led a $6 million seed round in November 2021. Later backers included Solana Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and Circle Ventures.
How Did Zebec Move Beyond Solana?
Zebec spent the next few years expanding from one blockchain and one product into a broader business.
Buying Into Traditional Payroll
In 2023, Zebec acquired PayBridge, a payroll and human capital management platform handling $300 million in annual payroll volume. It also set up Payroll Growth Partners (PGP), a unit that buys and runs small and mid-sized payroll companies.
In December 2025, PGP partnered with National Payment Corporation (NatPay), which processes over $170 billion in payments a year for more than 300,000 ACH clients. ACH is the US bank network that handles direct deposits. The deal lets employers send pay over bank rails or Zebec’s stablecoin rails from one platform.
Going Multi-Chain
Zebec added support for Ethereum, BNB Chain, NEAR, Arbitrum, Base and Stellar. In August 2023, it also launched the mainnet of Nautilus Chain, its own network for payment transactions.
A New Token And Name
In 2024, the original ZBC token was migrated to ZBCN at a 1:10 ratio, and Zebec Protocol was renamed Zebec Network. The new name reflects the shift from a single Solana contract to multi-chain financial infrastructure.
What Does Zebec Offer Today?
Zebec’s products now sit in one place. The desktop SuperApp launched in late February 2026 and combines payroll, cards, staking, payments and treasury management.
Crypto Debit Cards
Zebec offers crypto-funded virtual Mastercards in three tiers:
- Silver: a single-use prepaid card in USD, EUR or GBP
- Carbon: a reloadable prepaid card available in 90+ countries
- Black: a premium reloadable card, slated to return in October 2026, though Zebec’s card page still lists it as offline with a return expected in late 2026
Zebec reported that its cards had processed over 500,000 transactions and issued 21,626 cards by Q1 2026. In recent weeks:
- September 29: The Carbon card added euro and pound spending.
- October 6: Users could top up cards directly with USDT on TRON.
- October 11–12: A Velo Protocol and Zebec virtual card went live in the Orbit+ app on BNB Chain.
Payroll On Stellar
More than 20 enterprise accounts now run payroll on Stellar through Zebec, with over $5 million in payroll volume. Network fees are paid in XLM and payroll fees in ZBCN, with MoneyGram serving as the cash off-ramp.
How Does ZBCN Tokenomics Work?
ZBCN has a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens. Zebec runs a recurring buyback program that began in late 2023 and is funded by product revenue.
In Q3 2026, Zebec repurchased 40,536,539 ZBCN, valued at about $100,000, using revenue from cards and payroll. The tokens are held in an on-chain treasury wallet and with Uphold Institutional rather than burned. The DAO paused burns in early 2024 under a proposal called ZIP-4, and it plans to review by the end of 2026 whether to bring burns back.
ZBCN traded at $0.002151 on October 27, 2026, with a market cap of about $215.2 million. That is roughly 70% below its all-time high of $0.0072, set on May 30, 2025. ZBCN jumped 13.19% on October 21, after Zebec promoted a Bayern Munich jersey giveaway, but its October 21 close was still 11.9% below October 1.
Conclusion
Zebec started as a Solana protocol for streaming payments by the second. It now runs enterprise payroll on Stellar, connects to US bank payroll through NatPay, and offers crypto debit cards in over 90 countries through a single SuperApp. Its card and payroll revenue funds ZBCN buybacks, with 40,536,539 tokens repurchased in Q3 2026.
Resources
- Solana Compass: Zebec Network project review
- Holdex: Zebec seed round and history
- OSL: What is Zebec (ZBCN)?
- Zebec Blog: Partnership with NatPay
- Business Wire: Zebec integrates Privy’s wallet infrastructure into its payroll SuperApp
- Phemex Academy: What is Zebec Network?
- Zebec Network on X: Nautilus Chain mainnet launch, August 19, 2023
- Zebec Docs: Card programs
- Zebec Cards: Compare Zebec cards
- Crypto Card Hub: Zebec card review 2026
- KuCoin News: Carbon card adds euros and pounds, Q4 roadmap
- KuCoin News: Zebec October update
- Zebec Network on X: Stellar payroll update, October 23
- Report by crypto.news: Zebec reports $100,000 buyback of 40.5M ZBCN in Q3
- Report by TokenPost: Zebec buys back 40.5 million ZBCN in Q3
- Report by TokenPost: Zebec posts 13.19% snapshot gain
- MetaMask: ZBCN price, October 27, 2026
- OKX: ZBCN all-time high